The Chairman of the Airtel Africa Foundation, Dr Segun Ogunsanya, has emphasised the importance of supporting the brilliant but underserved to drive the fourth industrial revolution. He spoke during the induction of the first Nigerian cohort of the Airtel Africa Tech Fellowship in Lagos.
"True legacy is not measured by the awards we win or the volume of SIM cards we sell; it is measured by the lives we save, the people we feed, and the students we support when the line between success and failure is at its thinnest. At the Airtel Africa Foundation, we believe that lifting people out of poverty is the ultimate benchmark of a great company. Today, we are writing that legacy by tilting the balance in favour of the brilliant but underserved, ensuring that the fourth industrial revolution, driven by AI and Data Science, is built by African talent for the African continent," Ogunsanya stated.
The ceremony took place at Airtel Nigeria headquarters, where 70 undergraduates received fully paid scholarships. The financial aid programme covers tuition, laptop computers, living expenses, and essential learning resources.
Selected from thousands of applicants through an independently managed process spanning six months, the fellows are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. They were drawn from the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Benin, Tai Solarin University of Education, the University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University, and the University of Nigeria.
These students now join a prestigious network of Airtel Africa Foundation fellows currently studying in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and India.
